


ad te omnis caro veniet

by Anonymous



Series: okurimono-dono [1]
Category: Evillious Chronicles
Genre: Character Study, Drowning, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, suffocation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25236352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Michelle fantasizes about bells.
Series: okurimono-dono [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1968400
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8
Collections: Union Server of Evillious 24 hour ficjam





	ad te omnis caro veniet

Michelle always loved reading about the past. There was something special in the pages of history books that drew her in. She loved imagining life in a different time, whether that be during the early modern decadence of Beelzenia or the ancient empire of the Magic Kingdom. But more than that, she was fascinated with the idea that those worlds were dead. Beelzenia was never really restored to its former glory, and any traces of Levianta - the true Levianta - were long erased from this world.

When Michelle dressed herself in outdated clothes, she felt beautiful. Like the last breath of a dead culture. Sometimes she would close her eyes and fancifully imagine herself as a doll excavated from an archeological ruin. Historians would pick her apart and analyze her under their crystal lenses, dreaming of how she would have fit into ancient life. It was just a dream, and a childish one at that. But Michelle held on to it through the years, even until the very end.

For all her interest in the historical, though, she could not help herself to scoff at some of the more ridiculous customs. She had once read in a history book somewhere that people used to attach little bells to graves. Just in case someone got buried at the wrong time and had to be excavated back out. She'd laughed at it. What a quaint fear. Getting buried alive surely wasn't commonplace enough to warrant putting safety bells on everyone's graves, was it?

But when she lay in bed alone at night, and waited for dreamless sleep to overtake her, she could feel the crushing weight of darkness on all sides of her. Sometimes she would close her eyes, as if to protect herself from the asphyxiating night with yet another wall of inscrutable gloom. And sometimes she would let her mind wander, and imagine that she was an ancient princess laid in a leaden sarcophagus, the air cold and dry and devoid of any oxygen, only the fading warmth of her breath still signifying her life. She could imagine the layers of soil which bore down on her from above and the great ancient bedrock which supported her from below. And she would know, vividly, that no worms moved through that dark earth. Only the whispers of life-in-death that haunted her forsaken prison.

And then, sometimes, when she could no longer endure the overwhelming feeling of choking, she'd imagine a thin string dangling into her grave. And when she pulled it, the metal tinkling of a small bell.

* * *

Ever since early childhood Michelle knew that something in her household was wrong. She could pinpoint the first memory where she realized this: she was but two back then, but she could remember waking from her dream in a cold sweat, roused by loud voices. She remembered being all alone in the dark bedroom, trembling under her sheets. She did not understand many of the words the voices said, but she knew well the emotion they carried. The anger resonated from them and seemed to surround her on all sides, bouncing back and forth through the still midnight. Michelle never dreamt after that.

As she grew older, Michelle became aware of a sense of responsibility. Her father was a public figure, an esteemed judge and a pillar of the Union State's justice system. She could not be so selfish as to stain his honor for her own benefit. Even if she knew that already her mother refused to sleep in the same room as him. Even if she saw the narrowed eyes and angry scowls whenever his playwright friend came around to visit. So when the photographer came and the family posed for a photo, she smiled, doing her best not to clench her teeth too much.

As time went on, Michelle's father seemed only to dote on her ever more. He would buy her gifts, and take her on walks, and constantly tell her how much he loved her. Yet for all that he could never seem to trust her. It was a sort of overprotective mistrust, since the man could never seem to imagine Michelle making good decisions for herself left alone. He would forbid her from going anywhere alone, and refused to allow her to date until she completed university. And of course, he would never breathe a word of what his job entailed, though she asked constantly. It was frustrating and suffocating, but Michelle was careful never to let herself hate him for it. After all, she had a duty to be a good daughter, and a responsibility to uphold her father's reputation. And if she started to hate her father...? Who knew the amount of damage she'd do then?

But every now and again, Michelle would close her eyes and fantasize about being free of her obligations and her troubles. Maybe she could travel the world, going on excavations and unearthing ancient citadels. She could find love, and make friends, and eat all the delicacies the world had to offer. But the nagging voice in her head reminded her that no matter how much she wished otherwise, she was buried alive underneath the crushing weight of reality. If only she had a bell to ring. But who would hear it? And who would come to dig her out?

* * *

When Michelle received her acceptance letter to Levin University, she cried. Her application had been her bell, and at last someone had heard it and had come for her. All at once her wishes and dreams flooded into her mind, filling her with ecstatic joy and triumph. When she was at university she would no longer have to witness her parents at each other's throats. Her father would have far less say over her life. And as long as she made sure her background was hidden, she could behave however she liked without worrying about it ruining her father's reputation.

But before that, Michelle had to get through summer. And to make it just a little less painful, she decided that she wanted to do a little travelling away from home. Get a little taste of the freedom she'd longed for. To her surprise, her parents agreed to let her visit her grandfather in Marlon, though her father made sure her mother would accompany her on the voyage.

In the weeks leading up to the trip, Michelle pored over books about Marlon. She imagined herself there on the cobbled streets, standing on the windy moors, delighting in a world she had never before been allowed to experience.

When they arrived in Marlon, Michelle swore she heard the mad ringing of bells in her head. She ran down to the cold white beaches where the salty sea breeze tossed her hair into disarray. She trod barefoot over the desolate heath, paying no mind to the hard rocky earth underfoot. She stood in awe of the ancient cathedrals and palaces, and imagined her ancestors walking solemnly to their coronation. And Michelle was happy, painfully happy, knowing that this was but a smaller taste of the freedom that was yet to come.

So when the beginning of the fall term at Levin University drew near, and it was time to return to Elphegort, Michelle left Marlon hungry for her new life. And when she saw the shore of Elphegort, there again came the mad ringing of bells in her head.

Of course, no one could have predicted that a Ziz Tiama would sink the ship as it neared Elphegort.

Michelle plunged into the ocean, feeling the water seep into her dress, weighing her down, dragging her to the bottom of the sea. Only as the weight of the sea bore down on her did she realize being buried alive was nothing like what she imagined. She could never have realized how cold it was, how heavy it was, how numb it was.

As the icy blackness flooded her lungs, she tried to laugh one last time. But all that came out was half of a gurgle and three bubbles before everything faded to black.

Somewhere in the distance, a bell tolled thrice, and fell silent once again.

**Author's Note:**

> By Gift (@okurimono-dono.tumblr.com)


End file.
